WHEREAS, the month of May has been designated as National Foster Care Month and this year's theme is "Empowering Caregivers, Strengthening Families" which emphasizes the importance of identifying, developing, and supporting prospective and current foster parents and kinship caregivers; and

WHEREAS, the foster families of Nevada are the unsung heroes who serve as the primary source of love, protection, and support to approximately 4,700 children who were in need of out-of-home placement services in 2016; and

WHEREAS, foster and kinship families, who open their homes and their hearts to support children whose families are in crisis, play a vital role in helping children and families heal thereby launching young people into successful adulthood; and

WHEREAS, Nevada has continued the Quality Parenting Initiative to ensure that Nevada’s foster families offer skilled, nurturing, prudent parenting while helping children maintain connections with their family; and

WHEREAS, all young people in foster care need a meaningful connection to a caring adult who becomes a supportive and lasting presence in their lives;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BRIAN SANDOVAL, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, do hereby proclaim May 2017

Foster Care Month in Nevada

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Nevada to be affixed at the State Capitol in Carson City, this 11th day of April, 2017.